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A comment on The New B-21 Stealth Bomber to Be Revealed Later This Year, Senator Says. Parent comment

Re:The New B-21 Stealth Bomber to Be Revealed Later This Yea... by sofixa on Monday July 25, 2022 @09:36AM (#32224059)
But you'd also have to include the cost of the B-21, crew, maintenance, etc. - it's not only the $25k vs millions for a missile.
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Re:The New B-21 Stealth Bomber to Be Revealed Later This Yea... by throw0101a on Monday July 25, 2022 @09:39AM (#32224099)
'Cheap' / dumb ammunitions may be easier to produce in volume, so if you need to increase production it could be easier.

The B-21 is a fixed cost that is ready to go: just 'add water' (munitions) and you can have a higher pace of operations as long as you can feed the machine (B-21).

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Re:The New B-21 Stealth Bomber to Be Revealed Later This Yea... by closewith on Monday July 25, 2022 @09:45AM (#32224179)
Eh, bombers aren't a fixed cost. There's certainly a fixed CapEx, but the B2 OpEx is ~$130,000 per hour (https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/air-forces-10-expens...).

Still, strategic bombers add capability that drones/missiles don't. In particular, eyes on the target still haven't been deprecated by remote optics in drones and missiles can't loiter.

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Re:The New B-21 Stealth Bomber to Be Revealed Later This Yea... by sharpy on Monday July 25, 2022 @09:42AM (#32224141)
Yep. True. But amortized over the expected lifetime of the aircraft, it will still be orders of magnitude cheaper.
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